"Silent House" is not the first scary movie to come our way from Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. Back in 2003, the husband-wife duo came to our attention with "Open Water," the nailbiter about an American couple stranded at sea and forced to survive a pack of bloodthirsty sharks. Though the subject material isn’t the same, it’s easy to see the structural parallels between the two films: small cast, shaky camera, an emphasis on what’s lying out of sight. Sharks may be scarier to you than a home invader, but it’s up for debate.

Talking to MTV News, Kentis and Lau were asked about their affection for real life stories, and how those stories have influenced their films. "It’s true," Lau quickly said.

"We’ve noticed it ourselves," Kentis followed. "I think it’s because the kind of scares that emotionally affect me are those things.

"I’m online and I see something and it’s amazing how you can read something about someone you don’t know or something that happened and there’s a connection there as a human being where you can relate and say ‘Oh my God, I really have a reaction to it.’"

"Silent House"’s story isn’t immediately ripped from the headlines, but rest assured, it would be horrifying to read about. "Those are the stories I’m interested in telling," Kentis said, "and looking for that kind of element."

"Silent House" is out in theaters this Friday.

What do you think of the directors' thoughts on their new horror movie? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter!